Ruby Nash Garnett (born June 15, 1934) is an American singer who led the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

group Ruby & the Romantics.

Career

Born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, Nash did not start singing until she was a senior in high school. She joined a group of male singers touring as "The Supremes" in 1961. After they got a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

, they changed their name to "Ruby & the Romantics". In 1963, they scored a No. 1 hit with "

Our Day Will Come "Our Day Will Come" is a popular song composed by Mort Garson with lyrics by Bob Hilliard. It was recorded by American R&B group Ruby & the Romantics in early December 1962, reaching #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Ruby & the Romantics' ori ...

", and had a Top 20 Hit with, "My Summer Love" (#16) and still another hit with " Hey There Lonely Boy" (#27), along with several more charting songs over the next several years, but they never emulated that initial success. The group disbanded in 1971, after 10 years, still with all five original members: Nash, Leroy Fann, Ed Roberts, George Lee and Ron Mosely. Nash returned to Akron and worked for

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

. Ruby & The Romantics were given a Pioneer Award by the

Rhythm and Blues Foundation The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. The idea for the foundation came in 1987 during discussions about royalties with ...

in 1997, and were inducted into the

Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame & Museum Company Inc. was an American-based hall of fame that honored vocal groups throughout the United States. James E. Winner Jr. was the financial and managing partner of the For-profit corporation. Winner and ...

in 2007. , Nash is the only surviving original member.

References

1934 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers American women singers Ruby Nash Garnett Singers from Ohio 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Rhythm and blues singers 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women {{Ohio-bio-stub